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September retail sales rise a solid 5.1%, beating expectations

Putting worries about the economy aside, shoppers responded to deep discounts and the final weeks of back-to-school shopping by spending heavily at major chain stores last month.

The retail industry posted a 5.1% year-over-year rise in September sales, according to Thomson Reuters' tally of 23 large retailers released Thursday. That was better than the 4.6% uptick expected by Wall Street analysts and reflected a healthy shopping mindset among consumers despite an otherwise sluggish economic outlook.

"The general disconnect between U.S. retailers ... and broader weakness in the global economy continued in September," said Ken Perkins, president of research firm Retail Metrics Inc.